Malaysia Grand Prix 2009

[Open Addict]

As much as I'd like One HD, we don't get it. Hell, I don't even get Channel Seven, but then I don't think anybody gets it with anything resembling a watchable quality. I didn't mind staying up at all, I just hate the Australian commentators and their Webberphilia. They're worse than James Allen; I could make an entire thread out of why they're so bad fromthe way Cameron McConville seems to think there's no difference between driving a V8 Supercar and a Formula One car to the way they're overly critical of the drivers making tiny errors but ignore Webber's or the way they simply form sentences out of strings of buzzwords (it's especially funny when they pose it as the form of a question to a driver). They're like that guy at th circus sideshows who claims to have proof of alien life, but when you pay five ollars to get inside his booth, you find that all he's got is a cow fetus suspended upside down in blue liquid. All Rust and McConville do is call what they see on-screen, like Raikkonen going onto extreme wets. Martin Brundle, on the other hand, will actually tell you why it's so risky and why Raikkonen will be lacking grip, especially if it's going to be a few laps until the rains come.

Bring back the good ole days of Darrel Eastlake and Alan Jones on channel 9. I just loved it when Darrel would say Rubens BarriCHello, (pronoucing the CH, like a cello).

I totally agree with you on McConville, I mean I think he's an OK V8 driver, But how can he be called an Expert Commentator on F1. Especially when he has not competed in the series. (all he has done in an F1, is take last years honda, for a couple of laps around Motegi).

Channel 10 really miss Crompton, with his technical talk, Yeah he was never F1 but he certainly knows some stuff.

Why did kimi retire? I didn't remember him wrecking the car

Ferrari said, I think, there was a possible problem with the KERS on Kimi's car. Also I did see the Ferrari mechanics push Kimi in to the pits after the race had paused.
He was pushed from the startish line (when he stopped at red flag time) to the pits.

My understanding from the rules is because he was not actually in the pits when the race was paused, he would have a penalty from being pushed to the pits.

So therefore, If he was then at the back of the field, and a lap or two down, whats the point in continuing. May as-well save the engine.

 

[Touring Mars]

Anyway, I'm just wondering how the results from Malaysia are going to affect the diffuser appeal.

So am I... considering the result in Melbourne too, and you have the following: Brawn - 25; Toyota - 16.5; Everyone else - 17... the results shouldn't affect the decision, but you have to admit, the teams who made the complaints won't be putting these scores down to coincidence...

 

[Ardius]

Anyway, I'm just wondering how the results from Malaysia are going to affect the diffuser appeal. Nick Heidfeld was off the pace all weekend, but he was running second when the results were finalised because he'd played his pit strategy so well and had timed his stop just right; Kubica was cometitive in Melbourne because he'd done his strategy right, too. The Red Bulls were carving their way through the field, and if the race had remained relatively dry, I expect they would have kept that pace up, pace they carried over from Melbourne.

After reading this:
http://allenonf1.wordpress.com/2009/04/05/why-ross-brawn-has-a-clear-consience/

I believe the diffusers will be made legal, plus the fact the stewards in Malaysia again said they were legal.

Why did kimi retire? I didn't remember him wrecking the car

According to Ferrari, KERS problem. They said if they could fix it in time for the restart they would send Kimi out, but obviously that wasn't going to happen as Kimi clearly had other plans...

 

[prisonermonkeys]

After reading this:
http://allenonf1.wordpress.com/2009/04/05/why-ross-brawn-has-a-clear-consience/

I believe the diffusers will be made legal, plus the fact the stewards in Malaysia again said they were legal.

That protest was, by Sauber's own admission, nothing more than a formality. It was simply to ensure the events of the Malaysian Grand Prix were to be included in the appeal, and also because the team wanted to be included as a part of the official proceedings because they screwed up the lodging of their original protest in Melbourne.

I also read a variation on that blog by Allen over at GP Update, which pretty much says the same thing. If it's true - and I se no reason why it wouldn't be because the other team principals would have raised objections by now - I think it's more fuel to the fire that the protest against Brawn, Williams and Toyota is more of an attempt to get the other cars banned because they're quicker due to someone being innovative rather than because they're illegal. If they are illegal, then they should be declared as such, but the politics should stay out of it. Red Bull, Ferrari, Renault and now BMW-Sauber are going to be very unpopular if the FIA overturns his decision. Especially since the events of both Melbourne and Sepang have shown that cars without the diffusers can be competitive.

 

[Roo]

An amusing alternative commentary on the GP, from the Red Bulletin:

http://faw.redbulletinf1.com/wonkycommentary/public/

 

[Nicksfix]

2 races into the '09 campaign,Ferrari is without a single point.Not since '92 has Ferrari had such a bad start.Can they turn it around ? What do you personally feel Ferrari's issues are ? Kers ?,can't get up to speed with the new F60 ?,pit stop strategy (obvious in Malaysia,Massa on the wrong tires,Kimi's fire),any other contributing factors that you feel are holding them back ? I am not the biggest Ferrari fan (Williams and Brawn 👍 ),but this is kind of surprising don't you think ?

 

[Metar]

A mix of stupid decisions (Malaysia) and random unreliability (Australia) robbed them of points so far. The car isn't Brawn-fast, but it's up there near Red Bull and BMW in terms of pace. Certainly faster than the Renault and McLarens, both of which scored points.

 

[Ardius]

2 races into the '09 campaign,Ferrari is without a single point.Not since '92 has Ferrari had such a bad start.Can they turn it around ? What do you personally feel Ferrari's issues are ? Kers ?,can't get up to speed with the new F60 ?,pit stop strategy (obvious in Malaysia,Massa on the wrong tires,Kimi's fire),any other contributing factors that you feel are holding them back ? I am not the biggest Ferrari fan (Williams and Brawn :tup ),but this is kind of surprising don't you think ?

Ferrari's issues to me are:
1. Reliability....KERS, engines, driver's relibaility. This is their weakness at the moment and hasn't improved seemingly from last year.
2. Strategy/management, I thought they wouldn't repeat the idiocy of Silverstone 2008, but they did. They are acting like Force India, crazy attempts at bizarre strategies to luck into positions - which are completely uncalled for because the F60 is a decent car.
3. Perhaps the F60 might be difficult to setup for circuits? It seems that way because the car is off the pace for quite a while before they start to catch the leading cars on pace.
4. No more magic team. Michael might still be advising, but thats all he can do, advise. No Ross, No Jean, No Michael (in the driving seat). All 3 of these people were key figures in making Ferrari dominant, now with a massive rule change to shake things up, they had to start from scratch effectively and like McLaren they have been screwed from the lack of their previous genius' personnel (in the case of McLaren, its the lack of Newey this time around).
5. The drivers. Massa is as good as ever but he's seemingly returning to his crazy-Sauber days and throwing all his control out of the window as he struggles with poor qualifying performances and being stuck in midfield. Kimi clearly is losing interest, I'm sorry to Kimi fans, but Mr IceMan is not just being cool anymore, he has visibly shown disinterest not in his personality, but in his driving.

Also, both drivers seem to only thrive when they are at the front of the grid come race time, both stuggle in the midfield and both struggle with slower cars. Raikkonen particularly, his seeming happiness with just waiting behind people and not trying to overtake makes me think he either lost his ability to overtake or he can't be bothered.

Compare this team with a team that has a worse car, say, perhaps McLaren? Although Kovalainen is letting the side down, Hamilton is taking that car to places it shouldn't be and still battling his way through. Good strategies and reliable cars are really helping them a lot. Plus they appear to have the most effective KERS system and although they are lucking into positions at the moment they appear to be doing a better job than Ferrari. Now the McLaren really does appear to have a lot of issues in aero but we still saw it going wheel to wheel with the RB5.

 

[Nicksfix]

Kimi clearly is losing interest, I'm sorry to Kimi fans, but Mr IceMan is not just being cool anymore, he has visibly shown disinterest not in his personality, but in his driving.

I was going to mention that in the first post about this bad start for Ferrari,but I did not want to stir up the Kimi fanbase.Ardius,you are right though.It appears as Kimi just does not have the will to want to perform up to that of his McLaren days.Team issues with the higher ups in the Ferrari organization possibly ? Please correct me if I am wrong on this,but isn't this Kimi's last year with Ferrari ? Does he even care anymore ? Kimi to retire from F1 after the '09 season ? Don't know.

 

[Ardius]

Well he was all smiles when he was rallying earlier this year, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was off doing that instead.

And if he doesn't retire, then Ferrari will certainly get rid of him because he has failed in qualifying and in the race a lot in recent times.

 

[Nicksfix]

And if he doesn't retire, then Ferrari will certainly get rid of him because he has failed in qualifying and in the race a lot in recent times.

good point 👍

So lets assume Kimi bails out after this year.Who in your mind would Ferrari pickup ?

Seriously though,can Ferrari turn it around to a certain degree to withold their prestigious name ? I think the possibility is there,but can they put it all together to at least make themselves look respectable ?

 

[Peter]

from F1 website

Ferrari’s Stefano Domenicali has admitted that his team are going to have to dig deep to recover from their worst start to a world championship campaign in over 15 years. They left the opening round in Australia without a point and another disastrous weekend in Malaysia yielded similarly poor results.

Friday at Sepang saw Kimi Raikkonen plagued by KERS problems, while on Saturday it was team mate Felipe Massa who took the hit, failing to progress beyond Q1 after the team mistakenly assumed his time would be quick enough to progress into the second qualifying phase.

On Sunday, both drivers suffered their fair share of misfortune. Raikkonen went plummeting down the order after a premature switch to wet tyres and was subsequently sidelined with further KERS issues, while Massa repeatedly found himself on the wrong rubber at the wrong time and was eventually classified ninth.

"With hindsight, it's clear that we took some wrong decisions,” said team principal Domenicali, “especially in Kimi's case at his first pit stop: the information we had at the time was that the storm was due to hit in a very short time, when in fact it took a few more minutes for the rain to come.”

Whereas in recent seasons Ferrari have been able to rely on the intrinsic pace of their car to carry them through difficult situations, Domenicali conceded that this is currently not the case, with the F60 seemingly unable to match the speed of traditionally slower rivals.

“We have to change our mentality and accept that we are in a different situation to the past and that therefore we have to tackle it with a different approach, both on track and in Maranello," he added. “Clearly we have to extricate ourselves from this situation, without panicking, but with every one of us taking on our responsibilities: we have to dig deep and react, starting immediately.”

The last time Ferrari failed to score in the opening two races was 1992. They opened their account at round three with fourth and fifth places for Jean Alesi and Ivan Capelli, and went on to finish fourth in that year’s constructors’ championship.

i agree totally, my favourite team has less points than force india(or the same)

 

[Ardius]

good point 👍

So lets assume Kimi bails out after this year.Who in your mind would Ferrari pickup ?

Seriously though,can Ferrari turn it around to a certain degree to withold their prestigious name ? I think the possibility is there,but can they put it all together to at least make themselves look respectable ?

I think we may be looking at Ferrari era a little like the 90s. I don't think they can turn it around as I think they may fall into the trap that Toyota were in, relying on their resources to solve things and not sorting out their flaws in management. They clearly either didn't fire or fired the wrong guy from last year who messed up their strategies.
All hope isn't lost of course, they can turn it around if they sort out all these issues, but I don't think they will be returning to 2000-2004 form again.

As for who to replace Kimi.....well, the popular one would be Alonso and looking at Renault that is a 50/50. I think Ferrari would approach Vettel at a later stage but his contract lasts a little longer with Red Bull. Rosberg is defintely worth a look but I'm unsure whether he will stick with Williams or not, depends on this season. Toyota and Brawn's driver's are not going anywhere. Some promise in STR but not enough for Ferrari's standards. Hamilton is a possibilty if McLaren continue to be idiotic.

I think when it comes down to it, that Ferrari would go for some new talent from GP2/F2. Its worked so far for other teams and I can see Ferrari jumping on the rookie bandwagon.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

So lets assume Kimi bails out after this year.Who in your mind would Ferrari pickup?

Probably Alonso with the possibility of Vettel or Hamilton if he stills considers leaving McLaren. They probably would want someone with experience.

 

[Nicksfix]

relying on their resources to solve things and not sorting out their flaws in management. They clearly either didn't fire or fired the wrong guy from last year who messed up their strategies.

That my friend, could very well be the key to it all. 👍 Once management is affected.It all rolls downhill from there.

 

[mPWRD]

Probably Alonso with the possibility of Vettel or Hamilton if he stills considers leaving McLaren. They probably would want someone with experience.

Ferrari has lots of choices. They obviously won't go with an unknown... probably Alonso. I've heard rumors that they're trying to get him to sit down for contract talks. Maybe they'll try to lure Bruno Senna and get another famous name on their roster... they could also try to get Rubens back.

Who I don't think they'll get: Button (I just can't see him fitting in with Ferrari), Vettel (same), or Kubica (BMW won't let him go)

 

[Nicksfix]

they could also try to get Rubens back.

I don't know - Rubens appears to be reliving childhood dreams with Brawn.Have you seen the expressions on his face as he exits the car and all post race activities.I think he's found a home at Brawn,but I am quite sure he will need to fulfill some expectations on this team as well.Time can only tell when it comes to Rubens.Only he can make or break his future with team Brawn.If Rubens does not make it at Brawn,look at the age factor.I feel Ferrari will go with youth.

 

[Dazzla]

Probably Alonso with the possibility of Vettel or Hamilton if he stills considers leaving McLaren. They probably would want someone with experience.

Alonso is a good choice for Ferrari. There is no doubt in my mind that still one of the fastest drivers in the championship, it's just that he's being held back by a slow Renault car.

Hamilton and McLaren could definitely part ways, especially considering Lewis and his father are not too happy about the way this recent saga ended. But as I recall he signed a 5-year contract with them just last year? But I really don't see that happening.

 

[Skyline49]

Lewis has said that he could leave McLaren on the grounds that they breached his contract by incorrectly telling him what to tell the stewards in Melbourne.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

And McLaren have replied that they've discussed the matter and Hamilton isn't going anywhere.

 

[Skyline49]

Okay, I hadn't heard that. Source?

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Alonso is a good choice for Ferrari. There is no doubt in my mind that still one of the fastest drivers in the championship, it's just that he's being held back by a slow Renault car.

He probably wouldn't be off to a fast start at Ferrari either way. Maybe if he brought some of his guys with him, Ferrari wouldn't mess up his strategy. I think the big plus would be that with Ferrari's funds it would be easier to get a quick car.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Source?

Source.

 

[mPWRD]

Interesting... Ferrari will probably pursue him, but I think he'll probably sign with BMW or someone else... I don't think he really likes Ferrari.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Interesting... Ferrari will probably pursue him, but I think he'll probably sign with BMW or someone else... I don't think he really likes Ferrari.

That's assuming it's true, and McLaren are denying that it is.

 

[Peter]

I don't see hamilton with ferrari, red isn't his thing. Alonso might go with them and with the possibility of them getting a newbie like Bruno who's looking for a job and has great experience in a 700hp superlight race car(2nd in gp2 drivers champ if im correct)

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Why would Alonso and Senna go to Ferrari when Maranello have stated that they have no interest in the Spaniard, are not in the habit of recruiting rookie drivers, and are happy with both Massa and Raikkonen? And if your theory played out right, where would Massa and Raikkonen go?

 

[RACECAR]

Why would Alonso and Senna go to Ferrari when Maranello have stated that they have no interest in the Spaniard, are not in the habit of recruiting rookie drivers, and are happy with both Massa and Raikkonen? And if your theory played out right, where would Massa and Raikkonen go?

I'm thinking the same direction Sato went after Super Aguri went out: Nowhere.

 

[mPWRD]

Sato was promising, but his engine always blew up. Pity.

 

[RACECAR]

Sato has never had the luck of getting a very competitive ride and I mean a championship worthy ride. If he had been in a better, more reliable and consistantly competitive car, we would have gotten a much better idea of his abilities.